Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

The Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) completely upended conventional thinking in Jesus' world. No one expected Jesus to declare the tax collector right with God rather than the Pharisee. Galatians 1:13-17, 2:11-21 offers a different kind of contrast, in which the ex-Pharisee understands grace even though Peter reneges on his earlier commitments. Psalm 111 reminds us that God is righteous as well as gracious so we don't have to fear Luther's understanding of the gospel as promoting lawlessness. But the motives for why we do good make all the difference in the world (and eternity)!